Neighbors
www.SanTanSun.com
December 20, 2014 - January 2, 2015
43
Neighbors After a brief hiatus, popular Yoli’s Café reopens
CUMC celebrates Christmas Eve
Neighbors PAGE 44
Spirituality PAGE 55
Where to Eat PAGES 73-74
‘Foxy grandma’ stays sharp NFL Hall of Famers with dancing gather for charity golf tourney
BY LYNETTE CARRINGTON
Betty Rust suffers from arthritis in her hip, but the 85-year-old East Mesa resident has found that ballroom dancing in Chandler is the best medicine. “When I step on that dance floor, nothing hurts,” says Rust. There is much more to ballroom dancing than glitzy outfits, intricate dance steps and physical coordination. A study in the New England Journal of Medicine revealed that seniors who participate regularly in ballroom dancing experienced a 76 percent risk reduction in dementia. This statistic represented the highest reduction of the disease in BOOGIE SHOES: For seniors, dancing has any of the leisure activities been proven to be a great form of exercise, as Betty Rust demonstrates her moves with during the course of the instructor Sean Emad. STSN photo by Lynette 20-year project. Carrington Rust is thrilled with that revelation and contends that dancing keeps her mind sharp. “You have to learn all of the routines and the steps, then you have to remember all of it,” Rust states. Rust has been a student and competitor at the Fred Astaire Dance Studios in Chandler for 10 years. “When I was 17 and in California, several people I worked with decided to have a group class in ballroom, so we went and took a group class,” Rust recalls. “My husband was a cowboy and he thought dancing was an excuse to hold a woman close. So while he was drinking with his buddies at the dances, I’d go dance with his friends.”
SEE DANCER PAGE 46
BY CURT BLAKENEY
Several National Football League Hall of Famers will gather for the Legends of the Game Golf Classic at Whirlwind Golf Club at Wild Horse Pass on Wednesday, Jan. 28, to raise awareness for the Prostate On-Site Project (POP). A long list of football greats—including Dick Butkus, Randall McDaniel, Andre Reed and Curley Culp—will each captain a team of four amateur golfers in a five-man scramble competition to support POP’s mission of raising awareness about prostate cancer and increasing the percentage of men undergoing life-saving annual examinations. “I am very excited about the Super Bowl coming to Arizona this year,” says Marla Zimmerman, CEO of Prostate On-Site Projects and All Sports Foundation Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit foundation. “The Legends of the Game Golf Classic will help our nonprofit foundation with the ability to provide more free and low cost prostate cancer screenings to men throughout Arizona. This event will be able to educate more men on the importance of early detection of prostate cancer.” Zimmerman’s father, former NFL player Gene Felker, founded the POP in 1998 after he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Felker died in 2013 from corticobasal degeneration (CBD), a rare neurodegenerative disease, but his vision is still being carried out by his daughter and the volunteers and supporters of POP. “Marla Zimmerman and her late father, Gene Felker, along with Mike Haynes have done an amazing job bringing Hall of Fame members and NFL alumni together to bring attention to the importance of testing and early detection,” McDaniel says. “No doubt, their efforts are saving lives. I’m happy to be a small part of that mission.” Approximately 31,800 men will die from
SUN DEVIL LEGEND: Former ASU and NFL great Randall McDaniel, right, and radio host Ron Wolfley share a laugh at charity golf outing. Submitted photo
prostate cancer in 2015, including 550 men right here in Arizona—that’s one father, son or brother every 17 minutes across the United States. Sadly, early detection could save all of these lives, with a staggering 100 percent five-year survival rate for patients whose case is detected while the cancer is confined to the prostate. Men whose cancer is not discovered until later stages see only a 34 percent five-year survival rate. Unfortunately, with a cancer that often advances without causing symptoms until late in the game, these statistics will only change when more men adhere to the recommended annual digital rectal examination (DRE) and prostate specific antigen (PSA) blood test starting at age 40. Men with a family history of prostate cancer or who are African American have an even higher likelihood of developing the disease and should SEE GOLF TOURNAMENT PAGE 46
Ring in the New Year in downtown Chandler New Year’s Eve celebrations offer food, music and bubbly
BY MEGHAN MCCOY
Desert Dixie and DJ Soloman will help downtown Chandler families ring in the New Year with seven hours of continuous entertainment. The two acts will perform during the 2015 Chandler Downtown Countdown, which runs from 6 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 31, to 1 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 1, on Arizona Place between Boston and Buffalo streets. A custom ball will drop starting at 11:59 p.m., followed by a 3-minute fireworks display at midnight. Tickets range from $20 to $100. Young children will be admitted for free; see www. chandlerdowntowncountdown.com
for more information. The $100 VIP tickets include unlimited food and drinks, a champagne toast at midnight, party favors and a special lounge with high-top tables, private bathrooms, heaters, comfortable seating and fireworks. Novoa Denham Events worked with the Downtown Chandler Community Foundation to put on the inaugural event. Rafael Novoa, co-owner of Novoa Denham Events, says free reentry into the event will be allowed. “We are kind of expecting for the families to come out between 6 and 10,” Novoa says. SEE NEW
YEAR’S EVE
PAGE 50
BY ALISON STANTON
It may be hard to believe, but 2014 is soon coming to a close. To help celebrate the end of one year and the beginning of another, many area restaurants are featuring special menus. The following is just a sampling of some of the local events being held on New Year’s Eve: MUSIC: Country music duo Desert Dixie headlines the 2015 Chandler Downtown Countdown. Submitted photo
SEE CELEBRATIONS PAGE 50